Pitied

We have a lot of questions about death. The mysterious truth is that somehow death ends our existence here on earth, but it doesn't end us. Typically, the world has gotten this all twisted up, and so we see the current fascination with vampires and ghosts and zombies.

As far-fetched as those ideas are, they recognize a kernel of reality that is sometimes hard for us to grasp: death isn't it. As Paul points out, we have to believe people rise from the dead, because if we don't believe Christ did, we're pathetic. in 1 Cor 15:19 he writes, "If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men."

For that reason Paul says those Christians who deny resurrection from the dead have it all wrong. There has to be resurrection from the dead; if there isn't any, then we have no hope.

One thing that means to me is I have to stop thinking of death as a final punctuation mark; it's really a comma more than a period. I don't know what goes on after death, but there's going to be a lot more time spent living after I die than before it. So I need to get over my short-sightedness that I'm working for retirement, or to help my kids. That's like thinking the point of life is kindergarten.

It also suggests that in some pretty specific ways I'll still be me in heaven. I'll have this body, perfected; I wonder what that will look like. I'll probably still like to run, and I hope I can write and take photos. Even if I can't do those things, the creative urge that drives them will probably still be there. Other folks will be able to recognize me.

Somehow that makes heaven and serving Christ for eternity a lot more exciting. When I was a kid I though heaven just meant we all made concert choir, and I wasn't all that eager to get there.

So if death isn't final, and I'm still me afterward, maybe I should think a little bit about what that means. How can I spend my time here as an investment, so that the Greg who is resurrected is a better servant in whatever heaven turns out to be. I'm not sure what that means, but I suspect in the end a life lived here on earth simply as preparation for heaven is going to be more about effort and focus than it is about talent.